Have you looked at your piggy’s butt and noticed that it’s a yellowish color? You may be wondering what it is, or where it’s coming from, or why it’s happening!
There are a few explanations that we can provide to help you figure out what’s going on.
Why is your guinea pig’s butt yellow?
In general, the yellow color usually comes from your guinea pig’s urine staining the fur of their behind. So, now you’re probably wondering, how this is happening.
There are a few reasons behind why!
My guinea pig isn’t that active.
Unfortunately this is something that can happen with piggies that don’t move around as much.
This means older guinea pigs can be more susceptible to this than younger guinea pigs, but it’s not just them! Less active younger ones can sometimes have a yellow butt as well.
This is because the guinea pigs will pee in a spot, and then they’ll stay there, which means the urine will saturate their fur, not dry for a while, and then stain it.
There’s also the cases where a guinea pig is sick and they’re less likely to want to move, due to illnesses or pain that they’re suffering from.
Before Dumpling passed away, she was quite sick and was unable to move much, which meant she would stay in the spot she peed in. In order to remove the staining, GuineaDad would gently wipe her butt, which helped a lot!
Is the bedding I'm using correct for my guinea pig?
Yellow guinea pig butt can also happen when their cage bedding isn’t absorbent enough.
If you’re using something like paper shreddings or other traditional beddings, and your piggy has a yellow butt, chances are their urine isn’t getting absorbed quickly! This means your guinea pigs hair will stay saturated in the pee, especially if they’re not moving away from the spot they pee in!
There are also cases where regular, healthy guinea pigs are kept either outdoors in sheds or indoors, but with beddings like shredded paper or wood shavings. A lot of times, these kinds of bedding aren’t absorbing enough and they end up with yellow butts as well, regardless of how active they are!
What’s the solution?
Wiping their butt!
This is the most obvious solution!
You can also gently bathe them, and this should help remove the staining as well. But, depending on how often this happens, constant bathing can be uncomfortable for piggies.
When GuineaDad volunteered at shelters, he encountered many guinea pigs with yellow butts, and once he gave them baths, they were fine!
Change the type of bedding you use!
This is probably the best and most effective way to prevent yellow butt, and to keep it from happening again if your guinea pig is experiencing it often!
Using a super absorbent fleece liner is your best bet for preventing yellow butt from being a recurring issue. The GuineaDad Premium Liner and GuineaDad Liners are the perfect guinea pig cage liners for you to use
Both are extremely absorbent and prevent your guinea pig from having to sit in their own urine, even if they’re a less active piggy! The liner is also super soft and gentle on piggies, so even those that are reluctant to move around are still able to comfortably change positions if they want to.
No more yellow butts!
With changes in their bedding and the addition of wiping down their butts (in the most extreme cases), it can keep your guinea pig’s butt ultra clean and pretty again! (Just like those toilet paper commercials with the bears!)
